Moments of Peace
by TheValetAndTheMaid
Summary: This fanfiction contains Downton Abbey movie spoilers - Anna and John Bates find that, when the royals come to visit Downton Abbey, there is little time during the day for the two of them to find a mere moment of peace together. That all changes once at their cottage, of course. Disclaimer: I own nothing, Anna, John and Johnny do - and always will - belong to Julian. Please review!
1. Chapter 1 - The Evening Before the Chaos

**Author's Note: Welcome! This fanfiction is going to be a short one because it's going to be made up of three chapters. The first being Anna and John's evening before the royals arrive, the second being Anna and John's evening after taking down the royal servants and the third being Anna and John's evening when the family are at Harewood and the two of them get the evening off. I hope that you all like this little fic as much as I know I'm going to like writing it!**

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'I didn't mean to take so long…' Anna offered her husband a sheepish smile as she entered the sitting room after her bath and pulled her cardigan further around herself. 'I somehow managed to fall asleep while I was in there.'

John shook his head with a chuckle and, when he put down his book and opened his arms to her, she took that as her cue to approach him and lower herself into his lap. She felt a surge of warmth course through her veins when he encircled her in his arms and shifted with her so that she could get comfortable. Once she had cuddled against him and laid her head on his shoulder he pressed a kiss to her temple and a contented smile appeared on her lips.

He had taken such good care of her.

She had been soaked through after helping to set up the chairs for the parade and as soon as she had gotten back, John had seen to it that she had gotten right out of her drenched uniform and into the bath. He had gotten Johnny into bed and made her a cup of tea with lemon while she had been relaxing and, after bringing her tea up for her, he had given her a kiss and left her to warm up. Sometimes, she still felt as though she didn't really deserve him.

'The bed should be warm when you get in,' She was pulled from her thoughts when John brought his hand up to push a lone lock of hair out of her face. 'I put some hot water-bottles under the quilt while you were in the bath.'

She curled her fingers into the fabric of his nightshirt before tilting her head back on his shoulder to kiss his lips. 'You didn't have to do all of this for me, you know, I would have been fine just getting changed and sitting near the fireplace for a while.' She smiled when he wrapped his arm back around her and drew her closer to his chest.

'You would have done the same for me if I had been the one in your position tonight.' He pointed out to her.

She laid her head on his shoulder again after brushing another kiss against his lips and smiled as she watched the flames of the fire dance in the fireplace. 'Poor Lady Mary's going to be tossing and turning all night, I just know she is. She tried to keep positive when we were putting the chairs up, but she was so silent on the ride back and I could tell that she was panicking about what she's going to do if this rain doesn't let up before the royals arrive.'

'Sweetheart, I understand that you're worried about her…' John sighed while pressing his cheek to her forehead. 'But I don't want you to let that stop you from getting some sleep. You haven't had much sleep over the last few days as it is, what with Johnny being under the weather, and after the night you've had I think you'll need all the sleep you can get.' He caressed her waist when she hummed before she tilted her head back against his shoulder.

'I love you…' She smiled.

'I love you too,' He reassured her. 'So much.'

He captured her lower lip in a kiss that was long and soft then, but just as she brought her hand to the back of his neck the two of them broke apart at the sound of a muffled wail and call of _'mummy' _from the floor above them.

'Do you want me to go?' John asked with a stroke of his wife's back when she sat up in his lap.

'No, I'll go,' She reassured him. 'I missed out on his bedtime cuddle.'

He chuckled. 'He wasn't too impressed that you weren't here to kiss him goodnight.'

'That makes two of us,' She pouted before stroking his chest. 'I won't be long.'

She leaned in to give him one final kiss before rising from his lap and leaving the sitting room to go to their son.

Once he was alone, John leaned back in his armchair and smiled to himself.

In his whole life, he had never known a woman who had made him prouder than Anna did.

She was a mother, a wife and a working woman and he had no idea of how she made all of that look so simple.

One thing that he was certain of, however, was that she was a wonder.

And that he would never stop telling her so.

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**Author's Note: Thank you all for taking the time to read this first chapter and I hope that it was enjoyable! I think all the next two chapters will be quite short as well, but I hope that you like those and I also hope that - if you have the time - you'll leave a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Thank you all for your support and I'll see you in chapter two! **


	2. Chapter 2 - The Triumph of Downton

**Author's Note: I saw the film for the fourth time this morning and, once again, I loved everything about it from beginning to end. This chapter is shorter than the previous one, but I hope that you all still like it! Thank you all for your continued support with this fic and also my others.**

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The sensation of her husband's fingers tracing the curve of her spine made Anna sigh as she laid in his arms and listened to the beating of his heart. It was almost midnight and she was worn out, but thoughts of all that she and the others had achieved over the last couple of hours were still rushing around in her head and making her smile.

She had managed to crack the case of the disappearing things, the footmen and Mr. Carson had been able to wait on the King and Queen as was their right and Mrs. Patmore had cooked for them with ingredients out of her own store-cupboard. It pleased her to no end to know that her and John's plan had worked and everyone had had fun.

Her eyes fell closed and she sighed when she felt John leave a long kiss to the top of her head a little while later. 'Who would have believed that the respectable Mrs. Bates could be such a schemer?' She laughed at the feigned astonishment in his voice before rolling onto her front against his chest and smiling when he caressed her cheek.

He had that look in his eye again.

The look of pride that he had been giving her all afternoon.

The look of love that he had given her after toasting to her and giving her a glass of port.

'You've been looking at me like that all night…' She whispered as a gentle blush bloomed in her cheeks.

'Can you blame me?' He chuckled. 'I have the smartest wife and I feel like the proudest man living.'

She shook her head at him before kissing his chest and lying her chin on his collarbone. 'We make quite a team.'

'Do we?' He smirked. 'I hadn't noticed.'

The next couple of seconds passed in comfortable silence before he smoothed a hand over her cropped hair, took her chin between his thumb and forefinger and eased her head back to brush the softest of kisses against her lips. The two of them parted from their kiss moments later and, after grazing his nose with hers, she laid down beside him again and laid her head on his shoulder. 'I gather Miss Lawton's on her fifth cup of coffee right about now.' She said as she looked at the alarm clock on John's nightstand and allowed him to slip his arms back around her.

'So…her reputation wasn't as spotless as she led us to believe.' He replied.

'Nowhere near,' She shook her head. 'Truth be told; I was more worried about the Queen's reputation than hers.'

He gave her hip a squeeze. 'Well, Her Majesty's reputation remains stellar and that's all thanks to you.'

She smiled and snuggled against him before a quiet yawn escaped her lips.

'We should get some sleep, sweetheart, if we don't want to walk into Downton half-asleep,' He stretched to turn off the lamp that sat on his nightstand before turning back to her, covering her further with the quilt and pressing his lips to her forehead in a simple kiss. 'I love you.' He mumbled against her skin before pulling back from her.

'I love you too,' She smiled into the darkness. 'So much.'

The two of them began to settle down together then, John nuzzling his nose into her hair so that he could breathe in her scent and Anna hiding her face in the side of his neck while they allowed the sound of one another's quiet breathing to lull them into a peaceful slumber.

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**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for coming back to read chapter two, it means so much to me that you like this little fic of mine. I'm hoping to get the third and last chapter up tomorrow at some point! I would be so grateful if you left a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter. I'll see you all soon!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Peace Restored

**Author's Note: So here's the third and final chapter! I intended for this chapter to be a long one, but writer's block got the better of me once again and so it's not that long. I hope that you like it though and I hope that you've enjoyed this little fic!**

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It was almost one o'clock in the morning and John knew that he needed to get some rest since he and Anna were expected at Downton at quarter-to-seven, but he just couldn't take his eyes off of her while she slept in his arms. She had made him so proud of her over the last three days. She had risked her health helping to set the chairs up for the parade, she had made it possible for the staff to serve the King and Queen and she had solved the case of the disappearing things. She was a force to be reckoned with and he was certain that he would never forget that.

When the two of them had been basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking she had asked if their little bed and breakfast hotel could be in Downton village. She had reminded him that there were some houses that the Estate didn't run and that, if their hotel was in Downton, they would have no need to worry about losing touch with the Abbey and all who lived under its roof. He had agreed with her of course, considering he could never refuse her anything, and seeing her so happy had warmed his heart. She deserved to be happy after all she'd been through.

Now that he had had some more time to think about it, the thought of staying near the Abbey pleased him just as much as it did her. Johnny had formed quite a friendship with Miss Caroline over the past couple of months and the thought of removing him from the nursery when the two of them were inseparable didn't sit well with him. It would be nice to watch him and Miss Caroline grow up together because, when he was older, he would have the same link to Downton that he and Anna had with His Lordship and Lady Mary. It would always be a part of him.

When Anna shivered in his arms a couple of minutes later he covered her further with the quilt and tightened the arm that was wrapped around her waist, a soft smile curling his lips when she stirred and snuggled against him. Before she settled down again she draped her arm over his stomach, pressed her lips into his neck and mumbled something along the lines of an 'I love you' which he whispered back to her before pressing a kiss to her temple. It didn't take too long for slumber to claim her again after that and he stroked her hair when she began to snore.

He turned his head to check the time on the clock that sat on his nightstand and, when he saw that it was around quarter-past one, he knew that it was time for him to sleep. Unwrapping one arm from around his wife, he killed the flame in the oil lamp which plunged their bedroom into darkness, settled down beside her and sighed deeply. The last couple of days had been hard, he wouldn't lie about that, but he couldn't remember the last time he had had such fun while working. It had been particularly amusing to see the smug look wiped from Mr. Wilson's face.

He knew that things wouldn't remain this calm for long.

Soon enough, His Lordship would host a party or someone would come to visit and it'd be chaos all over again.

For now, though, peace had been restored.

And it made him happier than he could say.

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**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for taking the time to read these three chapters and for reviewing each of them! I'm working on a 30 Days of Domestic Fluff fanfic for Anna and Bates, which I'm hoping to start in December, so I hope you like it when I start posting chapters. If you have the time, please review this chapter and let me know what you thought of it and I'll see you all soon :)**


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